Strange, Beautiful World
by uh-rudeness
Summary: Harry and Draco are in for a bit of a surprise when they discover who their sons have become best friends with. One-shot.


At around six o'clock in the evening, Harry looked up from his work papers, which were spread over the table, as his twelve year old son, Albus, walked into the kitchen. Albus had a rather hesitant expression on his face, and Harry guessed immediately that he wanted to ask for something.

"Dad, you used to go to Uncle Ron's house almost every summer holiday… right?"

Harry watched his son, perplexed. "Yeah, I did. It was much more entertaining there than with the Dursleys." Albus cringed, and Harry had to stifle a laugh, knowing that Albus was remembering their yearly visits to see Dudley, his wife Anthea, and their daughter Jennifer. While Dudley had turned out to be much kinder than Harry had ever imagined, he was still not the most stimulating converser. Like his father, he worked at Smelting's, a company that made drills, and this did not make for fun conversation.

"And James had Sean Thomas over for about a month last year…"

Harry thought he knew what his son was asking for now, but he wasn't sure why he was so scared of asking. Harry and Ginny had always been rather willing to have friends over. "Yes, he did," Harry said. "So, what does this have to do with?"

"Well, I was wondering if, when we go to the Burrow with the rest of the family this summer… I could bring a friend?"

Harry frowned, still confused. "Of course, Al," he said. He watched Albus pick at the hem of his T-shirt, still appearing uneasy. Harry wondered if he still felt awkward about being sorted into Slytherin. "Al, why were you so worried about asking me? You know Mum and I love meeting your friends. I don't care what House they're in."

"Yeah, I know. It's just…" Albus sighed. "Aren't you going to ask me who I want to bring over?"

Harry laughed through his nose, still unable to figure out why Albus was acting so strangely. "Who are you bringing to the Burrow, Albus?"

"Scorpius Malfoy," Albus said, so fast that Harry almost couldn't understand what he was saying.

Briefly, Harry was shocked. This was the first he had heard of his son being close to Draco Malfoy's kid. Then again, if he had been Albus, he wouldn't exactly have rushed to tell him the news, either. _Well, how ironic is this?_

Harry grinned, and his son hesitantly smiled back, looking identical to his father at his age. "I'll send on owl to his father straight away, then. We'll want to give him a good few weeks' heads up before we pick up Scorpius, I suppose."

Albus beamed. "Thanks, Dad," he said, ducking in for one of the hugs that Harry rarely got from his sons anymore, since they were getting too old for such affectionate nonsense.

"You're welcome, Al," Harry said, releasing him.

After Albus left, Harry sat down to write the letter. When he was done, Harry shook his head, feeling a bit odd. When he was Albus's age, he never would have imagined sending such a polite letter to Draco Malfoy. Nevertheless, here he was, tying the letter to the family owl, Digga (who had been so named by a two year old Lily). Sending Digga off flying, Harry watched his wings as he tried to wrap his mind around what had just happened.

"You look confused.

Harry looked up to see his wife, Ginny, standing in the kitchen doorway, fiery hair tied up in a bun, lips curved in a smile.

"I've just been writing a letter to Draco Malfoy," Harry informed her.

Ginny blinked. "Why on _earth _would you be doing that?"

"His son Scorpius is staying with us for a while this summer, apparently."

Harry laughed at the expression on his wife's face, and stood to wrap his arms around her waist. "Well, at least we know who Albus was talking about whenever he said 'my friend' in his letters now," Ginny said, sounding a bit shell-shocked.

Harry kissed her lightly on the lips. "We live in a strange world."

"I agree," Ginny said. She paused, and then told him, "They both look just like you two."

Harry nodded. "It'll be freaky, watching them have conversations without attempting to disembowel each other.

Ginny laughed. "It will, indeed."

.

In another kitchen, miles away, a large, tawny owl arrived at the kitchen of Malfoy Manor.

Draco Malfoy let it in, reaching for the letter on its leg. He opened it, and read quickly:

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy,_

_My son, Albus, has just asked me if we could have Scorpius over for a few weeks this summer. Scorpius may have already mentioned this, but I wanted to make sure you knew Albus's parents knew about the whole arrangement. We would be glad to pick Scorpius up in two weeks' time, but you are more than welcome to drop him off then, if you would prefer. He would come home the week before they return to Hogwarts, unless you would rather he be home sooner. _

_Best wishes,_

_Harry Potter_

Draco stared at the parchment, unable to believe what he had just read. He imagined Harry Potter, brow creased, bent over a table somewhere, writing a polite letter to Draco, his enemy from Hogwarts. The image somehow struck Draco as funny, and he suppressed a chuckle.

"Scorpius?"

His son came quickly from the living room, where he had been playing wizard chess with his mother. "Yeah, Dad?"

Draco smiled at his son, and said, "Did you have something you wanted to ask me?"

He watched as Scorpius's face drained of all color. "I _told _Al not to send anything until I told him it was safe! Dad, I'm sorry, I was going to warn you, I just—"

"Scorpius. Calm down."

Draco looked down into the face of his son, feeling a strange sort of pride well up within him. Unlike Draco had been at the age of twelve, Scorpius was a free willed, goodhearted child, who did not delight in angering others (except, Draco had heard, for Rose Weasley, but then Weasleys and Malfoys never had gotten along). Scorpius was everything that Draco had wanted to be at Hogwarts, but couldn't have been.

"You aren't mad?" Scorpius said presently. Draco laughed.

"No, Scorpius. How did you become friends with him, anyway?"

Scorpius frowned. "He's my roommate at Hogwarts, of course."

Draco's jaw dropped. "You never told me that Harry Potter's son was sorted into Slytherin!"

"You never asked!"

Draco was laughing so loudly that his wife, Astoria, came into the kitchen to see what was going on. "Dad, what's so funny?" Scorpius demanded.

"Nothing, dear. Go finish your game with your mother, I'll write back and say you can go."

"Thanks!" Scorpius still looked confused, but he ducked back into the living room anyway. Draco wrote a quick reply, grinning to himself, then tied it to the Potters' owl and sent it, chuckling to himself as he went to join his family.

.

Harry received a reply quicker than he thought he would.

_Mr. Potter,_

_ Astoria and I would be glad to drop Scorpius off in two weeks. He may come home the week before they return to Hogwarts as suggested. _

_ Best wishes to you as well,_

_ Draco Malfoy_

Harry shook his head, still not over how surreal this was, and went out to where his family sat together. Ginny was reading the Daily Prophet, James was messing with some contraption that had no doubt come from his Uncle George's store, and Albus was reading Harry's old copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_.

"Well, Albus, Scorpius is coming with us."

Albus grinned excitedly, and Harry smiled back, wondering at how different things were from when he was a boy. Things had definitely changed, but Harry felt certain they had done so for the better.

Now, all Harry had to do was figure out how to tell Ron…

_**.**_

_**I've been thinking about this one-shot for a while, and I decided to take a break from Fix You to write it. I love imagining Harry and Draco standing awkwardly, attempting conversation, while their sons run to greet each other and joke behind their fathers' backs about how both adults look constipated. :)**_

_**Reviews are cool.**_


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